Yesterday’s Wall Street executives are investing in the very technologies that threaten to upend the traditional banks’ business models. Are they looking to destroy the companies they once built? They would say no, they are making room for multiple winners in the industry. “We help some of the new tech companies understand exactly what the opportunities are and what they aren’t,” said Hans Morris, former Visa chief and Citi executive. (Header image source: nytimes.com)

A new product ought to be different or better than what already exists. To this columnist, choosing “better” means stiff competition, low margins, and high acquisition costs. In contrast, a “different” product will be hard to assess for user interest and more unpredictable, but also more promising and prone to lasting success.

Amazon’s payments unit is contemplating acquisitions in the space as fintech valuations come “down to earth,” according to executive Patrick Gauthier. Up against PayPal and Visa, Amazon is looking to expand their payments business across the web on third party sites.

Seeking more transparency, NASDAQ is offering to take over bank and broker-run dark pools, private trading venues that have come under fire recently for collaborating with high frequency trading firms to rip off retail investors.

Starting with the pantelegraph and the laying of the first trans-Atlantic cable, this timeline ticks off the most significant innovations in financial technology since way before “fintech” was a term. Along the way: online brokers, bitcoin, selfiepay, and more.